Basilique Saint-Sernin — Toulouse, France - Romanesque Architecture on Waymarking.com

The Basilique Saint-Sernin (Occitan: Basilica de Sant Sarnin) is the former abbey church of the Abbey of Saint-Sernin or St Saturnin. Apart from the church, none of the abbey buildings remain. The current church is located on the site of a previous basilica of the 4th century which contained the body of Saint Saturnin, the first bishop of Toulouse.
Its importance increased enormously after Charlemagne donated a quantity of relics to it, as a result of which it became an important stop for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela, and a pilgrimage location in its own right.
Constructed in the Romanesque style between about 1077 and 1119 (altar consecration 1096), with construction continuing thereafter, Saint-Sernin is the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe, if not the world. The whole building was probably completed around the middle of the 12th century.
Despite being called a basilica, Saint-Sernin's deviates from the basilica plan of early Christian architecture in a few ways. It is much larger compared to earlier churches. Like many buildings in Toulouse, the ville rose, it was built of red bricks. The building is in the form of a crucifix, the ceilings are vaulted, unlike many of the earlier churches. The bell tower is divided into five tiers, of which the lower three, with Romanesque arches, date from the 12th century and the upper two from the 14th century. The spire was added in the 15th century. The total length is 115 m, the transverse depth 64 m, the height of the nave 21.10 m, the width of the nave 32.50 m, the height of the bell tower 65 m.
The Basilica is listed since 1840 as a historical monument, it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France) since 1998.
source: wikipedia